Chapter 7. _Hot Spot on Mercury_

It seemed strange to Burl at that moment that there wasn't more excitement on board the _Magellan_. To learn so early in the game that all were doomed should have brought more reaction. It should have excited some sort of frenzy, or efforts to abandon ship, or something. But the men in the cabin, though keyed up, were anything but panicky. Instead, there seemed to be grim concentration on their faces, an earnestness that spoke of a plan. Through a viewer which had been shielded so that the light would not blind the…